Discovering Destiny
by Mykindleisawesome
Summary: Alex had grown up working in her father's bookstore, never thinking that her life would amount to much. Well, at least up until the moment she met the ninja and discovered that she and her friend, Nikki, were kunoichi destined to save the world along with three others and a sorceress. Rated T for blood and cussing. NinjaxOCs, JayxNya Please read and review!
1. Prologue

**Welcome to my new story, Discovering Destiny!**

***confetti rains down over everyone***

**Thank you, thank you. Now, this is just the prologue, so don't expect too much action yet - we'll get to that soon.**

**Lloyd: Whatever.**

**You're still mad at me?**

**Lloyd: Yup!**

**Well, you seem awfully chipped about that... Besides, that was over a week ago!**

**Lloyd: ... *attacks me* **

**AHHH! GO AWAY!**

**Jay: While she's taking care of that, we'll get the story started. She does not own Ninjago.**

* * *

Sensei Wu sat in front of the smoke, waiting patiently for it to tell him more. Just last week he had discovered a prophecy about kunoichi, and he had yet to hear more from the spirit smoke.

Finally, hazy pictures floated in the smoke and began to show a scene...

Four figures stood on a map of Ninjago. Two right beside each other, the other very far away, and the fourth... right with the ninja.

The two figures were holding hands - not in a loving sort of way, more like a friend. One was wearing pink and purple and had a lightly pulsing lavender aura. She had the silver bow. The other was wearing green and yellow and had a pulsing green aura that wasn't too light, but also wasn't very dark. Hers pulsed rapidly - maybe because of fear? In each hand, she held one of the silver hoops.

The girl with the ninja, she was wearing an orange and yellow suit, and had a Japanese look about her, with her dark skin and eyes. Her aura was a darker orange and had a steady pulse - confidence must be great in her. Attached to her shins and forearms were the silver bladed gauntlets.

The last girl was way off by the west coast, and had on a lovely blue and purple suit. Her aura was more vivid, and pulsed not as steadily as the third girl's, but was still different as well. In her hand was a silver weapon, but it looked like it was made of water and was rapidly changing.

The four girls began to chant, a harmonious sound, over and over, but each time a different girl yelled out her element.

"Time! Space!" Yelled the girl in pink and purple, thrusting her bow up in the air.

"Nature!" Then came the girl beside her in yellow and green, not quite as sure of herself, but as confident as she could be. She put both arms up in the air, each holding a hoop. A protective layer of greenery grew up around them.

Next was the girl in yellow and orange. "Wind!" She put her arms up in the air, and wind began to swirl around them.

And finally it was time for the girl in blue and purple, who stepped forward confidently. "Water!" She yelled, also thrusting her silver weapon in the air. It finally came to a stop at a whip, which must be what her primary weapon was.

But they didn't seem to be done yet. The four girls put their arms down before bringing them back up, but in front of them. Their weapons glowed, and the four girls watched as a sphere of light traveled from a few miles to the east of Ninjago City to Ninjago City before dying down, revealing a fifth girl, this time in silver and gold.

She held two silver weapons, the twin sais, one in each hand, and put them up in the air, putting the tips together. A beam of light shot out, and the last thing Sensei Wu heard was "LIGHT!" before the vision disappeared.

He mused for a moment, wondering what it meant. 'But what about the sorceress?'

"Sensei?"

He turned to the sound of his name to see the four ninja at his door.

"Begin your training. I'll be right behind you."

His students left, and Sensei Wu put out the fire and followed them, closing the wooden doors behind him.

* * *

In a small cave on the east side of Ninjago, another figure pondered the prophecy before laying down to sleep. Almost as soon as Kelli-Rae shut her eyes, a vision struck her.

The sorceress was carrying her weapon, a switchblade staff, and had her backpack slung across one shoulder, carrying supplies and the Twin Sais of Light. One of the sais was in her hand, the crystal jewel on the handle glowing as she grew closer to the kunoichi of light.

Suddenly she was in a bookstore, and the crystal glowed all the more brightly as it was pointed to a girl laying on the floor, not moving, her clothes ripped and barely covering her.

Then she was on a battlefield, fighting off wave after wave of stone warriors before finally being surrounded to the point that there was no hope. Then they stopped, blades inches from her neck, and turned to face another figure...

Kelli-Rae shot up out of bed, tightly gripping her switchblade staff. Her head pounded, and the room wobbled before her as she began to gather her things. She had to be ready when the next one came...

**And that's the end of the prologue! Please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey. Mykindleisawesome here, with the first chapter for the replacement for Destiny's Wish: Discovering Destiny. Sorry I'm not continuing it, I just felt like it wasn't going where I wanted it to. So yeah.**

**Therefore, here'sthe first chapter of my new story. I really hope it goes well. And I hope you guys like it too!**

**I don't own Ninjago.**

**Alexandra's POV**

As I reached up to put the last book on the shelf, the bell jingled as the last customer entered our little bookstore. I pushed a strand of my auburn hair behind my ear, and walked over to the counter, punching in numbers.

"What can I help you with?" I asked, not looking up. I wasn't exactly a social person.

Suddenly, my BFF Nicole barged through the storage room doors. Well, she was more like my only friend. Even though at first we don't seem similar, we are pretty similar, even though sometimes her emotions get the better of her. She was always so . . . friendly (most of the time), and I was so shy.

"Hey Alex, I'll take care of them, you can finish closing up around here." She says, and I go back into one of the aisles, burying my nose in a book.

"Whatcha reading?" A curious voice jerked me out of my book, and I looked up. A boy was in front of me, around twelve, with light platinum blonde hair and deep green eyes. "Besides a book."

"Oh, it's . . . it's called The Selection. I'm rereading it again, because the last book just came out." I'm trying not to tell him to go away so I can continue reading, but it feels nice to talk to someone besides my family and Nikki for a change.

"Oh. Is it a really girly book?" He asks, staring at me.

I think about it for a minute. "Umm, kind of. Guys can read it too, but girls would probably enjoy if more."

"Oh."

Then there's one of the most awkward silences ever. Then, another guy comes over, around my age, and whispers something to the boy before leaving. I didn't see much of him, but his hair caught my eye. It was spiky and brown, but complemented him.

Nikki walked over, and sat down next to the kid. "Alex, this is Lloyd, and that was Kai. They're ninja. Lloyd, this is Alex, her dad runs this store and let's us work here and pays us money."

I wave to Lloyd, and he waves back. "Yep, we're ninja. And I'm the green ninja!" He says triumphantly.

My eyes light up in recognition. "Oh! I remember hearing about you! Didn't you destroy the Great Devourer?" I ask, and he practically yells.

"Oh my gosh, finally! Everyone thinks Garmadon defeated it, but he wouldn't have been able to touch it if we hadn't done something!" He sighs, and I giggle a bit. He's so adorable! "Hey, do you have any comic books here?"

"Umm, maybe." I stand up, and walk over to where they would be. "Here. There are a few of these, and the rest are graphic novels."

He excitedly grabs the book and loops down to begin reading. Then Nikki's phone buzzes.

Kai - At Dareth's dojo. Bring Lloyd. Thnx!

Nikki snaps her phone shut, and walks over to the door. She flips the sign so it says closed, and grabs the keys to lock the door. "Come on, Lloyd. We gotta get you to your friends. They're at some dojo."

I get up, and take the comic book, look at its price, and put the correct amount of money in the cash register. "Here. Keep the book. Not many people buy those anyway."

He smiles at me and grabs the book. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, kid. Now let's go. I wanna meet those ninja." We head out the door. I already know where we're going. I've met Dareth before. He's really a jerk. All of his trophies are fake, and he doesn't really know any martial arts. I've never done . . . whatever he teaches, and with my background of cheerleading and gymnastics, I'm pretty sure I could beat him. He spends most of the time talking, so it's really easy. He does manage to have a few students, (somehow . . .) and they adore him (for some reason). I don't get it.

* * *

We eventually get to Dareth's dojo, and I mentally prepare myself for Dareth's annoying . . . everything. We opened the door, and saw Dareth on the floor, with the red ninja, who was apparently Kai, standing over him triumphantly.

"Umm, we brought Lloyd back." I said quietly, and the guys looked at me. Lloyd walked over to them and introduced us.

"Guys, this is Jessica, and that's Nikki." Nikki and I wave. "And that's Cole," The black ninja, "Kai," The red ninja, "Jay," the really hyper blue one, "and Zane." The white ninja waved in greeting, Cole nodded in acknowledgement, and Kai grunted.

Cole looked almost gothic or emo. His entirely black outfit made his pale skin seem even paler, and his dark brown eyes looked almost black. He had dark black hair that swooped over to the side, thick black caterpillars that ran above his eyes, and he looked nice, but the almost purely black eyes were offsetting. Underneath his gi he looked very muscular, even more than the others.

Kai was definitely the most interesting of the ninja. He had the darkest skin, but it just looked like a deep tan. Not too deep, but just enough to be noticeable. His eyes were a solid amber, and there were scars around his eyes, and one created a notch in his eyebrow. His hair must've needed a ton of gel to get it to stay where he wanted it to. It was spiked up in random directions, and was a rich brown color.

Jay looked pretty much normal, like someone you would expect to meet on the streets. He had light skin, and light blue eyes, almost like the color of the sky. There was a scar in his right eyebrow, and his hair was a reddish brown color. He kept staring off into space, which would make Kai glare at him, so I assumed he was taken.

I gasped as I saw the last one, but I don't think anyone noticed.

Zane. . .

His skin was a pale porcelain, maybe even paler than Cole's. Platinum blonde hair stuck straight up in the air, and crystal blue eyes pierced my gaze.

_Handsome is the only word for him . . ._

"Hey! Do you wanna watch us?" Lloyd asked, and I shrugged. I guess it would be cool and all . . . And I could watch Zane . . .

* * *

Whoa. Jay and Lloyd are balanced on the top of poles, occasionally leaping forward and backward to stay out of the other one's reach. It was like they were doing a strange sort of dance.

"Remember, you must be light on your feet." Jay instructed as he kicked out at Lloyd, forcing him to leap back onto the last pole. It was amazing to watch, and must've taken extreme concentration to execute.

* * *

Cole put another board on top of the already overwhelming stack. "Remember to strike with your fists. You might be small, but you have power." Amen to that. I almost killed a hamster when I was five. Accidentally, of course. Then again, how was I supposed to know that if you squeeze it too much, it passes out?

Lloyd stepped up to where Cole was, and mentally prepared himself. Then, he jumped up in the air, higher than I could, and struck the boards. They all broke in half, and so did the table. An earthquake-like power knocked us all to the floor, and a large crack erupted from where the table was.

"Whoa. You're good!" I exclaimed, and Lloyd looked at me, proud.

"Well, I _am _the green ninja." He puffed out his chest in pride, and I giggled. But then again, he did have a reason to boast.

"Wow . . . that was the power of the Scythe of Quakes!" Jay exclaimed. Lloyd looked at him, and at his hands in awe.

"And you did it without the golden weapon!" Cole yelled. Lloyd smiled.

"And it was pretty freakin' awesome!" Nikki screamed. We all turned to her. I just shrugged it off. Typical Nikki.

"Uhh, okay . . .?" Kai mumbled.

"With all this power, you must learn to control it before it controls you." An old and wizened voice came from the back of the room. And old man with a long white beard and straw hat looked up. I saw a flash of something in Lloyd's eyes, but before I could figure out what it was, Dareth burst in.

"I have to admit, not bad for a kid." I groaned. Not this again. He waved two of his students in, each carrying boards-more than how many Lloyd had broken. "But how about fifty? Stack 'em, boys." He said to the two kids, and I could hear Sensei's sigh. I feel his pain. I wonder why they wanted Lloyd to train here? "And perhaps if I, Grand Sensei Dareth, can break them all, you would allow me to join your team and become . . . THE BROWN NINJA!" He yelled triumphantly, pulling on a brown hood.

Everyone else exploded, including me. I was laughing so hard I could've cried. Him?! An actual ninja?! Please!

"The brown ninja?" Jay was laughing the hardest, and I could see tears brimming his clear blue eyes. "You've gotta be joking!" Next to me, Nikki was laughing pretty hard, too.

"Honestly, we would have a better chance of becoming ninja then him." She whispered in my ear, which made me laugh harder.

"Sorry, pal, club's already full." Cole chuckled, and the rest of our laughter died down as we watched Dareth. He probably wouldn't even make a dent in the boards!

"Okay, okay. Then maybe this demonstration of superhuman-" I couldn't help it. I snorted, and Dareth glared at me before continueing. "strength will change your minds. Jeffry! Phil! Are you ready for this?" He walked over to the boards, and I looked on, amused by the entire situation.

"Yes, Grand Sensei Dareth!" They yelled, and bowed to him. I looked at them. How could they not see through his act? It was really, really dense.

"Then observe!" He cried, and started stretching and performing some strange ritual. "I, Grand Sensei Dareth, call upon the animals to give me strength to perform this task." He mumbled, and I held back another laugh. "HEEE-YAA!" He screamed as he hit the boards with all his strength. The moment his fist touched the board, it turned a bright red. "EEEAAAA! A-WHOO-WHOO!" He blew on his hand furiously while the rest of us exploded in laughter again.

He and his students left the room. "Ha! I knew he could never be a ninja!" Cole cried. "There aren't any more, anyway."

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong." Sensei stood up, and walked over to Nikki and I. "These two young ladies are ninja. They shall help you defeat the Overlord, and there are four more. Nikki, you are the ninja of nature. And Alexandra, you are the ninja of time and space. NINJA-GO!"

He spun into a golden tornado, and I was transformed into an outfit that was completely pink and purple. There was a pink dress, with purple accents, that hugged my body, and purple leggings. The shoes were pink moccasins, and a pink mask covered the lower half of my face. My auburn hair is pulled up in a tight ponytail, but it didn't pull too much.

I looked to Nikki, and saw that her outfit was slightly different. Hers was a darker green and had yellow accents. There was a green sleeveless shirt that was right against her light skin, and a pair of green shorts with yellow accents. The shorts had a small pocket on each side, and she had yellow knee-high boots. Her dirty blonde hair was in a braid going down to the middle of her back, and a green mask covered the lower half of her face. She flashed a wink at me, and pulled down her mask. She looked amazing, and I'm sure I was, too.

The guys stared at us for a minute before turning back to Sensei. "Sensei, I-I don't understand. I thought there were not any more ninja." Zane had a look on his face that clearly read: 'This does not compute!' I remember that he was a robot-or 'nindroid' as the others like to call him.

"Well, I think it's pretty cool. But who are the other four?" Lloyd piped up. Ooh, that's right! We get teammates! Even though I'm not very social, I gotta admit, this is pretty awesome.

"Well, one is technically not a ninja. She is a sorceress, but is destined to join our team as well." Whoa. Sorceress?! That would be so cool! "And another you already know. Well, one of you, anyway." He looks pointedly at Lloyd. I wonder who it is . . . "As for another, we will have to search for her. Lloyd knows the ninja of light, and there is also a ninja of water. And the last one is Nya, who is the ninja of wind."

"My sister's a ninja?!"

"Kai, she is a kunoichi, a female ninja."

"Whatever . . ."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. So lemme get this straight. So Alex and I, we're ninja. And there are three others - no, make that _two _others - and a sorceress. Right?" Nikki asks, but it's clear she already knows the answer. Unlike me, she practically idolizes the ninja, and has been waiting and waiting for a chance like this.

"Correct. And you will stay with us - or you could stay with your parents until we find somewhere a bit more roomy." They've got space problems?! Nikki and I and my dad live in the tiny space above our bookstore. I've seen space problems.

"Um, we'll wait until you don't have space problems." Nikki mutters. Then, we hear screams from outside.

Sensei looks up at us worriedly. "Hurry! Take Lloyd and the girls, but keep them safe!" And so we run out of Dareth's dojo. And let me tell you, I did not expect to see pirates terrorizing the town.

**Kellie-Rae's POV**

I concentrated on the smoking flame in front of me. It showed hazy pictures, but I got the idea. The kunoichi were coming soon, and it was time to prepare.

All nineteen years of my life I had been raised for a single purpose. To join the kunoichi in their mission to help the ninja.

That was my life for nineteen years. Waiting. Preparing. Following the rules. It became a routine, as did my daily consultation with the spirit smoke.

But I began to enjoy it. Once I join the kunoichi, it will disappear. But of course, the rules remain. Therefore I must listen.

That is all I know.

**?**

In the depths of the underworld, a figure cloaked in a purple cape and hood approached the shadow that loomed over them.

"Overlord, it is almost time. They have discovered the prophecy of the kunoichi."

"Good. Then it is almost time."

**Man, I'm finally done with chapter one. And I'm kind of nervous. So go easy on me. Feel free to criticize, but don't outright flame. I worked really hard on this, and feel good about it. **

**Thank you to lya200, MoonofMoons, BlueJayMetroBlaze32, mlplover333, and FrostDragon Girl 318 for reviewing! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Okay, I made a very important decision. I will do my best to make every chapter at least 1,750 words. I want this story to be long and enjoyable. **

**So there you go! I don't own Ninjago. **

**Wait, I gotta say something real quick. I am also making sure that I pre-write chapters so when it's time for me to update (I won't update consistently, it's just not my thing) a chapter or two will be ready. See? I'm trying real hard for you guys. But I'm getting in the habit where I update every Monday and Thursday.**

**Nikki's POV**

As we ran to face the pirates (wherever they came from. I mean seriously - random!), I admired my outfit. I'm definitely not a fashionista - or even close to being one - but I had to admit, my outfit was super cute! And whoever made it seemed to realize that I didn't really like dresses. Or skirts.

I fingered the soft material of my tunic as we continued running. Suddenly, we came to a stop as a flying ship flew over our heads.

"Hey! That's our ship!" Cole yelled. They had a ship? What?

"You . . . had a ship?" Alex asked, obviously as confused as I was. Where did they get a freakin' ship?!

"Long story." Kai wheezed. "We'll catch you up on it later. But now, we have some . . . are those pirates?!" He cried as we saw a bunch of them attacking a bus with their weapons. Pirates? But . . .

"That doesn't make any sense! Pirates haven't been around for centuries!" I cried. The others nodded.

"I wonder how they got here . . ." Alex and Zane muttered. Alex looked away and blushed, while Zane just looked a bit confused.

"I believe Lord Garmadon had something to do with this." Lord Garmadon . . . oh, Lloyd's dad . . . right . . . He was the one that 'saved' the town from the Great Devourer.

"How are we going to catch them?" Lloyd asked, and Kai smirked.

"With this!" He exclaimed triumphantly. I looked at it for a minute before realizing what it was.

"A bus token? Really?" He glared at me, and a bus screeched to a stop in front of us. Kai inserted the token as we got on, and yelled.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but follow that ship!" I snorted. It sounded exactly like Kai to say that.

But, strangely enough, the bus driver didn't bat an eye as he raced towards the ship. The rest of us got ready to fight, and I suddenly felt nervous. I had never fought before! What am I supposed to do?! The guys noticed us and Lloyd, and began to protest. "No, you can't come. Just stay here with Lloyd."

"Why not?!"

"Please! I'll be super good!"

"Does that have something to do with the fact that we're girls?" I raised my eyebrow. The guys awkwardly stared at me, and nudged Kai forward to answer.

"Um, well . . . you see . . . You don't know how to fight, and Lloyd doesn't have anyone to stay with, so please just stay with him!" He exclaimed, and I groaned.

"Fiiine . . . But I'm telling Sensei when we get back." Kai sighed, and looked at me.

"Fair enough." The four guys flipped onto the roof of the bus as we sat beside Lloyd, who was staring out a window.

"Guys? I've got an idea." I smirked at Lloyd. This was gonna be fun . . .

* * *

Alex and I sat behind Lloyd on his dragon as we flew to Dareth's rescue. I still don't like him at all, but I wasn't just gonna let him die. Come on people, I'm not heartless. He screamed as the ground got closer, and shut his eyes in anticipation.

The Ultra Dragon grabbed his ropes and he yelled out in victory, clearly not seeing us riding the dragon. "I did it! I called the dragon!" He screamed.

"Actually, Lloyd did. This is his dragon." I pointed out, and his ego seemed to deflate a bit. We flew around for a minute watching the ninja fight the pirates, and at first they did pretty well. The captain was pinned to the mast by two of Zane's shurikens, and a few were thrown overboard. Wow, pirates are so dumb.

Then I gasped. "OMG!" I turned to Alex. "Do you think there's a Captain Hook on this ship?"

She sighed. Well, it's not my fault that Captain Hook - the one from Once Upon a Time, not Peter Pan, mind you - is really freakin awesome. "I doubt it, but you can ask."

"Yay!"

"Hey, you ready to jump off?" Lloyd asked as we got ready to fly over the ship again.

"So, we're going to jump off a dragon onto a flying pirate ship infested with pirates?" I ask.

"Pretty much."

"Then what are we waiting for?!"

Lloyd smiles, and redirects the dragon to fly over the ship. "Ladies first."

"Aww, such a gentleman. But seriously, if you don't jump off first, I'll push you off. And that'll hurt a whole lot more." I gave an innocent smile as Lloyd gulped and jumped off, grabbing onto a rope and screaming.

"NINJA-GOO!" He ended up swinging into Zane and some other pirate guy.

"Ready?" Alex asked, and I nodded.

"Let's do this without dying, getting hurt, getting thrown overboard-"

She slapped a hand over my mouth. "Okay, shut up now. I'm nervous enough already."

Alex took her hand away from my mouth, and we got ready to jump. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be . . ." She grabbed my hand, and we jumped. She screamed and closed her eyes while I enjoyed our moment of weightlessness.

We landed right beside the pirate guy that Lloyd knocked down, and he stood up and yelled "Pirate, go!"

I rolled my eyes and punched him. "Really? That's not even a thing. At least Ninja-go! sounds somewhat normal."

He growled and raised his sword. 'Oh my gosh, I'm gonna die . . . !' I thought, until Kai jumped in front of us and their swords clashed. "Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" He cried as he stuffed Lloyd in a barrel.

I laughed at his legs kicking the air before turning to Kai. "Okay, I gotta admit, that was pretty funny. But, you just told us to stay with Lloyd, which we did. Therefore, we have full rights to be here." I kicked a pirate in his soft spot, and he shrieked while Alex pushed him overboard.

"So, I take it you're not leaving."

"Nope." We said simultaneously before Kai sighed and turned around.

"Fine. Just stay safe." He began to fight the other pirates again as the two of us defended Lloyd and his barrel. 'This is so weird . . .'

"Raahh!" Lloyd yelled, and we saw a barrel with green legs running around the mast before tripping over a pirate and hitting a switch.

Alex and I quickly moved out of the way as the barrel rolled towards us, but Kai wasn't fast enough. He ended up landing on top of the barrel and trying to keep his balance on it. 'Wow, this is just like a movie!' I thought to myself before watching Kai go overboard. "Kai!" I yelled before seeing him grab onto the anchor. "Ohh, so that's what the switch did . . ." I said to Alex, and she nodded.

"Not exactly the best place to put a switch for one." She muttered, and I nodded in agreement. Then we saw the same pirate from before trying to hit Lloyd - er, Lloyd's barrel with his sword. I grabbed a random sword I found on the deck and ran towards the pirate. 'I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot.' I chanted inside my head as I blocked his next blow.

"NINJA-GOO!" I heard Lloyd scream, and a green tornado burst out of the barrel. Whoa, he did Spinjitzu! "Wow! I did Spinjitzu for the first time!" He congratulate himself, and the pirate hit him with the flat side of his sword, knocking him to the ground. Lloyd flew backwards, and flipped the switch again. As the anchor rose up again, Alex and I ran behind the other ninja as they advanced towards the remaining pirates.

Lloyd yelled, and brought his hands together to form a green orb. "Lloyd, do you know what you're doing?!" Alex yelled.

"Not at all! Just going with the flow!" He exclaimed as he released the orb and it flew towards the pirates.

"No!" Kai screamed as he got back on the deck. 'Hey, he's back!' The orb flew back towards us, and went over our heads to hit the huge mast, which began to slowly teeter back and forth. My heart raced as we all ran forward, trying to get out of the way.

The mast thudded to the deck behind us, and Alex and I were the only ninja that weren't trapped underneath. 'Oh, crap . . .' I thought. 'Now what? I can't do anything useful! CURSE MY LACK OF UPPER BODY STRENGTH!'

The pirates all stood on top of the mast, and the captain hit his sword against his hook menacingly. "You lose, pajama men." He smirked as he pointed the sword at the ninja. Whoa. Those are definitely not pajamas! "Now you're walking the plank."

The other pirates pointed swords at us and laughed-until I fell on top of Alex when the ground shook.

"Ow!"

"Sorry!"

I got off of her and helped her up as everyone else looked around. A huge robot thing grabbed the ship and knocked everyone down again before putting the mast back up and stepping back.

The ninja and I walked over to the captain. A girl jumps out of the suit and jumps on top of the captain, pinning him to the deck.

"Who wins in pirates vs. ninja? It's samurai!" Jay cries, and the girl giggles. "Ahhh . . ." He sighs.

* * *

"Aww! Why couldn't it have been Captain Hook?!" I groan, and Alex sighs.

"Because he was Captain Sohto or whatever."

"Excuse me, is that your ship?" One of the police men asked as the rest pushed the pirates into their cars.

"Yes, yes it is!" Jay exclaimed proudly, or at least until we heard the engines starting up.

"Sorry, but you snooze, you lose!" A voice called from the ship. A man with black skin and four arms peered down at us.

"Lord Garmadon!"

"Dad!" Lloyd waved his arms to his father.

"Sorry, but you're becoming stronger, son! But you'll never be strong enough to defeat me! Give up! Before it's too late!"

Ouch. That last one seemed to hit a nerve in Lloyd, because his face fell and he staggered back a step. 'How could his dad ever say that to him?!'

He looked back at us, who nodded encouragingly at him. He stepped back towards us as if announcing his place, and I hugged him. He didn't deserve a father like that.

"Have it your way, son! Another day, ninja! Another day." The ship began to fly away, and Jay groaned.

"Well this is just great! Garmadon is back and he stole our ship!"

"Buy at least we have this little guy." Cole ruffled Lloyd's hair as we watched the ship fly away.

"RAAH!" A yell came from behind Jay, and he flipped whoever it was in front of him to reveal that it was Dareth.

"Come on, guys. I Dareth you to forgive me." And with that, we all burst out laughing-not at his lame pun, but at the relief of just having something (or someone) to laugh at.

**Sorry this chapter is shorter than the last, I just want the next chapter to be longer and have no Ninjago episodes in it. Just pure imagination.**

**Thank you to MoonofMoons and Z-Swag for reviewing, and-**

**Jessica: OHMYGOSH A PINK SPARKLY BALLOON! *dives for it***

**Ummm . . . That was inter-**

**Random ninja: NOT. MY. BALLOON! ATTACK! *they run towards Jessica***

**Jessica: ?**

**Whatever. Bye!**


	4. Chapter 2 and a half

**Hey guys, I'm leaving on vacation on Saturday and will be back on Thursday. So here's a filler chapter for you! It's kind of going to be a deleted scene of sorts, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Chapter Three will be out tomorrow!**

**Thank you to NinjaMelissa for reviewing! I don't own Ninjago, Parvati, or Kelli-Rae. The girls belong to Mariah, and Ninjago belongs to LEGO!**

The cloaked figure once again ventured down to the Underworld, presumably to meet their master...

"Master, I successfully placed the journal in Garmadon's ship. He now knows about the Dark Island and will be heading there soon. On another note, he is beginning to understand the Mega Weapon."

"So I take it you have succeeded?"

The figure rolls her eyes. It was times like these where she regretted ever accepting his deal... "No..." She replied in her best sarcastic tone. "I just did everything you told me correctly and still managed not to succeed."

The Overlord groaned. Sure, it was great to have someone that had no choice but to do what you wanted, but sometimes it was very tiring. "Meghan, I told you I don't like it when you use your 'amazing powers of sarcasm' to mock me. And I know that you know that I can send you down to the depths of the Underworld the hard way."

Meghan groaned. She hated it when he did that! "I know, I know. And you know that I hate it when you use that against me!"

"I only use it against you when you don't do what I want!"

"Well sometimes I don't do what you want because if I do what I want, I'll be free and actually have a life!"

"You won't be free! You'll be rotting in the depths of the Underworld!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

...

The Overlord smirked. He did, however, have a very special job for her. "I do have something interesting for you, though."

Meghan's eyes brightened. "Do I get a vacation? Go on an assassination? Ooh, how about-"

"If you'll let me finish, I'll tell you." Meghan snapped her mouth shut. The Overlord breathed out a small sigh of relief. When that girl got going, there was almost no stopping her.

"You know the ninja, the ones that are supposed to destroy me?" He waited for an affirmative response before continuing. "Well, I have information on where they are going to be headed. Their final stop will be near a small town called Eresma. A mute girl lives their, about fourteen. The ninja won't be able to help themselves if she and a helpless eighteen-year-old are the only ones that survived the fire that burned their entire town to the ground."

Meghan cackled with the Overlord. Now this was her idea of fun...

"As I was saying, after the ninja get you and the girl to travel with them, try and discretely do everything you can to stop them. If you can do this one last thing, I will free you." Megan's eyes widened.

"So if I succeed in this... I'll be free?"

"Yes. Now go. I have given you enough time to become friends with the girl- I believe you already know sign language from past experiences, so I will leave the rest up to you."

Meghan nodded and began to walk out.

"Wait. First, we must change your appearance- just in case." Meghan lowered her hood, revealing light cream-colored skin, blonde hair, and purple eyes. With a wave of his transparent hand, the girl was overcome by a puff of black smoke.

When all of the smoke dissipated, it looked like a new girl had appeared. Instead of the cream-colored skin, she had light coffee-colored skin, a curly mess of brown hair, and chocolate eyes.

The Overlord paused, knowing that he had forgotten something. While the girl was admiring her new features, he cleared his throat, making her look up at him. "I forgot about one thing. I don't know how to reverse these changes, so it is highly likely that you will be stuck like this forever."

Meghan sighed. It was a small price to pay for getting another step closer to her freedom. "It's alright. I'll go meet this girl. What is her name?"

The Overlord closed his eyes, summoning something. He then gave her the paper and sent her off.

Meghan retreated and flashed out of the Underworld. In her hand was a picture of a girl with brown hair, as straight as a pin, hazel eyes, and pale skin. _Pandora Winchester _was the name clearly printed on the paper.

Meghan set her shoulders back and adjusted the cape that had also changed. Instead of the lovely purple it had been, it was now torn and black. Meghan clutched her head as a sudden wave of agony rushed through her. 'Well, duty calls.'

A few seconds later, she arrived next to the child who had unknowingly called her. She put a hand on their head, leeching out the awful nightmare that plagued the child. When she wasn't responding to the Overlord, she was doing her duty: relieving people from their nightmares. Along with creating illusions so no one saw her.

And with that, she set out for the town of Eresma, wishing it didn't have to be this way.

**Okay, so I'll see you all tomorrow with chapter three! Oh, and please, please check on my profile for a new poll: Will Misako be with Garmadon or Wu? And if she's with the other brother, will there be an OC? Please go and vote!**


	5. Chapter 3

**Man, chapter three already?! I'm on a roll! But seriously, guys, I couldn't have done it without you.**

**So anyway, Jay . . . ?**

**Jay: She doesn't own Ninjago, only some of the OCs and some of the plot.**

**Yep. The other two OCs, which were created by Mariah, MoonofMoons' cousin, will appear later on, but for now, on with the chapter!**

**Alexander's POV**

After a long night of sleep, we had agreed to head back to Dareth's dojo to begin our training and meet Nya, the yellow and orange ninja of wind, and our teammate. She was-well, still is-Samurai X, and managed to keep her identity a secret for a while.

She is Kai's sister and Jay's boyfriend, as well as the robotic figure that saved us and the ninja from the pirates. While being more experienced at fighting, she has never conquered spinjitzu-maybe because the guys never let her find out for herself what she could really do. And that's why she became Samurai X-to prove them wrong.

"Hey, are you okay? You're zoning out on me." Nikki's unusually mellow voice cut into my thoughts, jarring me from my inner self.

"Yeah. What's wrong with you? You're usually more excited than this."

"Well, this is a big chance for us, and I'm worried. What if something goes wrong? What if it turns out we're not the kunoichi from the prophecy? What if-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We were chosen for a reason, and if destiny decided that we were going to be kunoichi, nothing can mess that up."

Nikki sighs, but lightens up a bit. "I guess you're right."

The rest of our trip is completely silent. I sigh. 'Well, my first day of training to be a kunoichi isn't off to a good start...'

* * *

As we approach Dareth's dojo, a girl is waiting for us outside.

"Hey! Are you Alexandra and Nikki?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh, umm, Sensei wants you inside."

"..."

* * *

**No POV (Sorta... you'll see what I mean...)**

The three girls walk into Dareth's dojo, and the ninja and their Sensei immediately turn to them.

"Ah, Alex, Nikki. I take it you have met Nya?"

Alex slowly nods, while Nikki stares off into space.

'I'm still worried... What if I'm not really the kunoichi they think I'm supposed to be?'

"Great. Then you've met your teammate. Nya-"

"Wait._ Teammate? _What do you mean by that? Do you mean..." The sister of fire sucks in a hasty breath. "Am I a... _kunoichi?__"_

Sensei nods, and the ninja once again gape at him. Of all the things they learned yesterday, apparently this was not one of the things they retained.

"Indeed you are, Nya. You are the third kunoichi of the team, the kunoichi of wind. Strong and silent, you move like the air itself. NINJA-GO!"

They watch as Sensei Wu engulfs Nya, Alex, and Nikki in his tornado, and the three spin to a stop, in their uniforms.

Nikki and Alex were wearing the same outfit as before, but Nya's outfit was different in its own way. The top was short, yellow, and exposed a large portion of her darkened torso, and had a see-through keyhole in the center above her chest in the shape of a diamond. There was a short yellow and orange skirt with slits on each side, and orange boots that went only up to her ankle. An orange mask covered the lower half of her face, and her hair hung in the same fashion it always did.

Jay and Kai's reaction to Nya and her uniform were priceless. Jay was openly gaping at her, and Kai looked ready to punch a hole through the wall.

"WHAT?! MY SISTER CAN'T WEAR _THAT!_" Kai exploded, and glared at Jay before shoving him into the wall.

"Kai, I'm not a little girl anymore! I can look out for myself!" Nya cried out.

"Your sister is right. It's time for her to control her own destiny." Sensei nods.

Kai lets out a groan, and crosses his arms over his chest. "Fine. But if she ends up-"

"Kai! Shut up already!" Nikki and Cole yelled before blushing and looking away. Alex smirked. 'It's pretty obvious they like each other...'

"As I was saying..." Sensei cut in again, and his students turned their attention back to him. "We must train you three for the final battle. Since not all of you have had the benefit of being around as long as the ninja have, you and the other kunoichi must train twice as hard to be ready."

"Yes, Sensei."

* * *

"To be able to control nature, you must be able to speak to it." Sensei put a small bonsai tree in front of Nikki. "Now, once you have reached a state of peace and have cleared your mind, only then can you connect with your element. Try to communicate with the tree."

Nikki rolled her eyes but complied. She focused on the tree, and let her mind empty itself, focusing only on the task at hand.

Then she heard a faint whisper, like an old wizened voice.

'It... is time...'

Nikki was startled, but responded.

'Time? Time for what?'

'To assemble... the kunoichi...' The whispers voice faded away, like a breeze.

Alex watched as her friend's eyes snapped open. "What did you hear?" She asked, anxiously awaiting an answer.

"He said it was time... Time to assemble the kunoichi."

Sensei nodded. 'Ahh, so I was right. We must work quickly if we are to be prepared for the final battle...'

His students watched as their wizened master stood up, and followed suit. "We must train. Nikki, continue with the tree. Test yourself, and be bold. Nya and Alexandra, come with me. The rest of you, Lloyd needs all the help he can get."

"Yes, Sensei."

* * *

"Alexandra, your talents are different than the others. For one, you must harness two before you can reach your full potential. But yours are also synched. I will go more in depth later, but for now, I need you to reach inside yourself. Leave this world, and enter the spirit world. Only then can you see the past, present, and future."

Alexandra pondered her teacher's words as he and the former Samurai X walked away. 'Enter the spirit world...' rang through her mind over and over again. 'What is that supposed to mean?'

The kunoichi sat and concentrated on her teacher's words, and closed her eyes. Shapes began to form behind her eyelids, and suddenly she could see again.

But this time in a different perspective. She looked down and saw herself, still sitting in the lotus position with her eyes closed, but she also saw a ghostly version - the body she currently was in - of herself, her torso fading into the air.

Below her spirit world self, time was frozen. Alex suppressed a giggle.

Zane looked like he was also meditating, and Lloyd was in the middle of kicking Kai's... oven mitts. Cole was lifting weights, and Jay... was staring at Nya with a dreamy expression on his face, and Kai glared at him.

Sensei was instructing Nya, and Nikki was still in the lotus position as well.

Alex began to grow worried when none of them moved, and then another spirit appeared.

It was an old man, but his spirit form was more complete than hers. In fact, just the bottom of his feet dissolved. He had a long beard, and was surrounded by a pulsing golden aura. It was a less vivid shade, maybe to symbolize something.

'My dear Alexandra...' Alex heard the man speak, though his lips only smiled at her.

She tried to speak back to him, but words wouldn't form on her lips.

'No, Alexandra. In the spirit world, things do not work like that. Communicate with your mind...'

The girl paused, and finally noticed her own aura. It was a light pink color, and pulsed slowly. 'What?'

If she could gasp, the poor girl would've, for this was all very surprising. 'Is this...' She left her statement unfinished, because the man's bright smile answered her.

'Yes, my dear. You are a quick learner. But you must go now. If you stay here too long, you can never leave.'

He motioned to her, and she noticed that her legs were beginning to form, and her upper body got clearer.

'Wait! What is your name?' She whispered as the world around her began to fade.

The elder man smiled again. 'You do not need to know my name. But most people just call me the first spinjitzu master...'

The world completely faded away, and Alex opened her eyes. She squinted as they adjusted to the light.

Strangely enough, it seemed as if no time had passed, for Sensei was just now beginning to speak to Nya.

Alex closed her eyes once more and began to meditate again, but refused to let herself go back to the spirit world.

* * *

"Nya, your element is strange. It isn't something you can see, like time and space. Nor is it something you can hold. Therefore your element is more difficult to harness. I need for you to concentrate on the air around you, and make a small whirlwind."

He left the Japanese girl with what he said, and she sat down in the lotus position. She held her hands out, cupped together, and closed her eyes.

Nya pictured her hands in her mind, and imagined the air becoming tangible, swirling around in her hand. The ball of wind in her mind transformed into a miniature tornado, and she opened her eyes to see...

Her dark skinned hands cradled a slowly turning ball of wind, which slowly dissipated, leaving her with nothing once more.

Nya sighed. 'This is going to be harder than I thought...'

* * *

Twenty tries later, Nya finally made some progress. When she opened her eyes, the ball of wind kept spinning, and she kept her eyes open as she attempted to move on to the next step.

Making a tiny cyclone.

Which is definitely easier said than done.

Nya imagined a fist pinching the bottom of the orb, making it more triangular and more like a cyclone.

She gasped as it worked, and the cyclone only wobbled slightly before regaining its shape under her command.

"Very good, Nya." Nya jerked her head up at her teacher's wizened voice. The cyclone once again dissipated, and she groaned.

'Darn it! I was so close!'

"I'm sorry, Sen-"

"Do not apologize. It is my fault for distracting you."

"Yes, Sensei."

"Now, do it again." Sensei Wu nods, and walks back over to Nikki.

'This is going to be a _long _day...'

* * *

Nikki was in the middle of communicating with the tree - _again - _when Sensei came back over. It hadn't really told her much, and she was getting bored.

"What else have you learned?"

She sighed. "Not much. But besides the fact that this tree doesn't have much to say, the sorceress is coming. That's pretty much it."

Sensei studied her for a moment - like he knew she was hiding something from him - before nodding and walking back over to Alex.

Nikki moaned and slumped against the wall. Considering the tree was a part of her element, it seemed to know what was in her mind, not just what she told it.

Which meant that it saw the doubts in her mind, and commented on it. Telling her it was okay to have doubts, but not letting them cloud her vision.

And it was right - but it was too late. Her doubts were affecting her.

But she had to stay strong. No one could know.

She could only hope that Alex forgot about her little slip up.

* * *

Sensei walked over to Alex, who was clearly meditating, and sat down beside her, ready to join her in the spirit world, when she opened her eyes.

Alex blinked, startled. She had not expected to see her Sensei so soon. But then again, time had been frozen when she first visited the spirit world.

"So, have you achieved my goal?"

"Yes, Sensei. Not long after you left, I entered, but time was frozen here."

"Good."

"Why is that good?"

"It means that you have more time to leave. If you take the time to restart time or visit places besides our time, your spirit body takes faster to fully trap you."

"But how do k restart time and go back or forward in the flow of time?"

"I will show you. Now, return to the spirit world."

Alex nods to her Sensei and closes her eyes once more. She quickly empties her mind, and feels her spirit leave her body, and she is once more faced with a frozen dojo.

But this time, another spirit arrives with her.

Sensei Wu is beside her, and floats over to the middle of the room.

'Now, to start the flow of time, you must imagine it like hitting a play button. You are the one that controls them here. As in, if they move while you're in the spirit world, not what they do. Now, try it.'

Alex closed her eyes and imagined everyone moving again and making noise. The sounds slowly started up again, and everyone began moving again.

'Good... But look. Our spirits are growing, making it more dangerous the longer we stay here. So return, and I will speak to you on the other side.'

And all at once, Sensei's spirit disappeared, leaving Alex all alone. She closed her eyes once more and imagined being back in her own body.

But just before she left, she felt an unsettling presence, like a shadow in the midst of the light. It silently pulled at her, telling the girl to stay, but it was too late.

Alex's eyes snapped open, and the world swirled around her. It was obvious she was back in her own body, but a sudden wave a nausea racked her body, and she ran to the nearest bathroom, a disturbed Nikki right behind her.

Alex collapsed in front of the toilet, and threw up what little food was still in her stomach from breakfast.

"Hey, are you okay?" Nya entered the bathroom, and locked the door behind her. The Japanese girl gently pulled her auburn hair away from her teammate's face as she dry heaved.

Finally, Alex sat up and nodded weakly, her unsettled stomach now yearning for food. She leaned against the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"The second time I entered the spirit world, Sensei went with me, and he showed me how to restart time while I was in there. I did, and he left, leaving me alone to leave as well. My spirit began to rejoin with my body, when suddenly I felt cold, like someone had left the window open on a cold winter day. Then I sensed a dark presence, like something... _else _was there, too.

"It began to pull me back, and for one frightening second, I was trapped. Partway in my body, but also partially trapped. Then the shadow realized that it was too late, and the grip lessened. I returned, but not without nauseous feeling and a sense of dread."

As Alex finished her story, the two other kunoichi shared a glance.

"We have to tell Sensei."

At the sound of those five words, Alex perked up. 'That's right! Sensei can tell me what happened!'

* * *

After the kunoichi relayed to him what happened, Sensei was also deeply disturbed, and mused about Alex's predicament.

'If that was who I think it is... He is more powerful than I realized...'

Sensei stood up, and his students did as well. "Alex, it is currently too dangerous for you to revisit the spirit world. You cannot visit again until either Zane or I go with you, and even then you must be careful."

Then he turned to Nikki and Nya, who were also worried about their friend, whether New or old. "As for you two, be careful as well. Tell me of anything strange, whether it be in dreams or in your everyday lives."

Next he addressed all of them, but specifically the kunoichi. "We must leave soon to attain the first three silver weapons. Which means that we will have to visit your families and tell them about this, unless you already have." Due the the awkward silence and guilty looks from Nikki and Alex, he guessed that was a no. "Then we will leave now to inform them. But first, choose a temporary weapon to use during our journey."

Sensei led the three girls over to a large cabinet before opening its ornate wooden doors to reveal weapons of all sorts - swords, katanas, bows and arrows, and many, _many _more. - before stepping back, letting them choose a weapon.

Nikki was admiring a katana and its sheath when two different weapons caught her eye. They were S-shaped, and were kind of like hoops, so she decided to call them that as she carefully spun them in her hand.

The two blades spun, and they reminded her of Zane's shurikens. There was a small switch on one side of the handle on each blade, so she experimentally pressed it. The blades collapsed into the handle, leaving two short rods that fit perfectly in her pocket.

Alex was instantly drawn to one of the bow and arrow sets. She had always admired the weapon - it might not exactly be the best weapon for short distances, but she could easily climb a tree and pick enemies off one by one.

She slid the sheath of twelve arrows over her shoulder, and grabbed a few spare arrows from an abandoned sheath. Then she picked up the bow, admiring the smooth wood and its beautiful finish. Her hand slid over the grip before holding onto it and pulling back the string experimentally before pulling it back where it was.

Nya didn't know what to do. She definitely wouldn't have a sword, but maybe a katana...? She had liked those better, anyway...

She reached for a katana when four strange contraptions caught her eye. Like she had used them before, her hands picked them up and attached them to herself - two to her forearms, two to her shins.

They seemed to be bladed, and the appropriate name came to her mind - _bladed gauntlets._

She grabbed the katana as well, and put the sheath on her back.

Sensei smiled as his students chose their weapons, even as Nya got a katana as well. He knew how difficult it was to master the bladed gauntlets.

"Now students, our first stop is to go talk to Nikki and Alex's parents. From there we will go to the Garden of the Four Seasons to retrieve the silver hoops of nature, the Mountain of Gales for the silver bladed gauntlets of wind, and finally, the Frozen Forest of Time to retrieve the silver bow of time. Any questions?"

Jay slowly raised his hand, as if he were ashamed to do so.

"Yes, Jay?" This wasn't going to be good...

"First question: How will we get there? Second question: What about bathroom breaks?"

Everyone but Sensei at least cracked a smile, but Sensei just shook his head, unamused. "We will ride the Dragon to get there, but wear comfortable shoes anyway. As for the second question, well, we'll see about that."

Sensei walked outside, and Lloyd whistled. The air was silent for just a moment before a loud shriek rang through the air. A huge four-headed dragon swooped down in front of him, and Nikki and Alex gasped at the sight. They had never seen it before! The situation was very new to them.

"Come on!" Cole yelled to Nikki, who was the only one that hadn't gotten on the dragon. "There's nothing to be afraid of!"

He held out his hand, and Nikki tentatively grabbed it as he pulled her on behind him. She almost gasped as she felt the calluses just on his hand.

Lloyd whistled again, and the dragon took off, lurching through the air. Nikki was almost thrown off, but she instinctively wrapped her arms around Cole's waist and shut her eyes as she could.

"Nervous, huh?" His gentle voice carried back to her, and she weakly nodded. "Well, I've got ya. You won't fall." She nodded again. 'This is going to be a long ride...'

**Wow. This is the longest chapter I have EVER written. Exactly 3,500 words. **

**So anyway, thank you to NinjaMelissa and Cassandra (guest) for reviewing. Sorry I didn't post this chapter sooner, I'm on vacation! Bye!**


	6. Chapter 4

**So.. I'm back with chapter four of Discovering Destiny! Yay! I don't have much else to say, so... Lloyd?**

**Lloyd: Mykindleisawesome doesn't own Ninjago, nor does she own Kelli-Rae or Parvati. They belong to MoonofMoons's cousin, Mariah, and Ninjago belongs to LEGO.**

* * *

Nikki was glad when they got to Alex's store - it meant she could stop holding on to Cole and get off of the stupid dragon.

Her face burned as Cole helped her off the dragon, but it was partially hidden by her mask. Cole's hands lingered on her waist just a moment too long, and he turned away so she couldn't see his blush.

'Damn! Why does she have to look so pretty with her uniform on?!' Cole mentally beat himself up after he turned his back on her. 'With her beautiful dirty blonde hair, and gray eyes...'

'Ow!' He thought as he pinched himself, hard, before turning back around and following Alex to her front door.

Sensei softly knocked on the door, and a voice called from inside.

"Just come right in, we're open!" The jaunty male voice cried.

Alex opened the door, and the bell jingled for a moment as she held the door open for the others. Zane eventually grabbed the door, and when his hand brushed up against hers, it tingled for a moment before she rubbed it and the tingling went away.

Her younger sister was there stocking the shelves, her jet black hair bouncing in its ponytail, and her father was the one that had called out from the counter.

"Papa? Arista?" Alex called out to them, and big smiles graced their faces.

"Alexandra!" They cried, running to her. Her father enveloped her in his arms before kissing her on the cheek, and Alex bent down to hug her 14-year-old sister.

"What are you doing here... in that... outfit...?" Her father asked, and Sensei Wu stepped up to speak.

"Your daughter is destined to be a kunoichi that will save all of Ninjago, but she needed to say farewell to you first."

Her family nodded sadly, and Arista ran back to the back of the shop. Alex looked to her Papa as he came up to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Alexandra, if this is what you want, we will support you. But you may go only on two conditions." He paused, letting that sink in.

Alex smiled. 'I can go! But I wonder what he wants me to do...'

"First of all, you must come back tonight to have supper with us. And you must also come visit us when you have time on your journey."

Alex nodded eagerly. 'That doesn't seem so hard!' "Of course, Papa! But first we need to go talk to Nikki's parents. What time do you want us back?"

"In three hours."

"So... at six, sir?" Zane questioned politely, much to her father's delight.

"Yes. Now, what are your names?"

"Well, sir, I am Zane, and these are my brothers, Cole, Jay, and Kai, along with the green ninja, Lloyd. And this is Nya, Kai's sister, and I presume that you already know Nikki."

Alex's father smiled and leaned over to her, whispering just loud enough for everyone else to hear. "I like him. My answer is yes."

Alex turned a beet red, and everyone but Zane giggled.

'Why are they laughing? And what did he mean by yes?' The poor nindroid was utterly confused at the entire situation: He was just responding to her father and giving him the respect he deserved!

Alex was so embarrassed! She couldn't believe her Papa said that so everyone else could hear it - let alone say it at all!

"Well, we'd better get going if we're going to make it to dinner on time!" She cried, ushering everyone out the door.

"Wait!" She heard Arista yell. Alex sighed, but waited up for her little sister, who was carrying something in her hands, and had a backpack slung over her shoulder. "I wanted you to have this."

She handed her the backpack that she has had slung over her shoulder. "It has some of your clothes and stuff in it. And I wanted you to have this."

Alex gasped as Arista put the silver chain around her neck. "No! You can't give me this! I can't-"

"No. I want you to have it." She wrapped Alex's hand around the chain. "This is my gift to you."

"But-"

"No buts. Take it, and I'll see you tonight." Arista ushered a still protesting Alex out the door and shut it behind her. "Now Papa, do you want me to close early so we can start cooking or not?"

"Yes, that would be lovely, dear."

* * *

Alex fingered the crystal dolphin necklace that her sister had given her while she was riding the dragon over to Nikki's house.

Zane sat behind Alex, and noticed her quietness. "Alex? If you don't mind me asking, where is your mother?"

Alex closed her eyes, a rush of memories flooding through her mind. "I'll tell you later..."

Zane and the others were silent for the rest of the ride, only hoping that Lloyd would somehow get them on the solid ground safely - and Nikki just wanted to get off and stop embarrassing herself in front of everyone else. Somehow, she still managed to end up behind Cole. And holding onto him for dear life. Again.

And when they finally stopped at Nikki's house, Cole helped her off. Again.

Nikki knocked on the door of her house, and her mother opened the door. "Nikki!"

"Mother!" Nikki hugged her mother, who had a slim figure and was holding a whimpering toddler on one hip. The toddler had the same dirty blonde hair as Nikki and her mother, and held his arms out, as if silently pleading for Nikki to hold him. "Hi, Luke." She cooed, and relieved the child from her mother.

Cole couldn't tear his eyes from her as she lightly bounced the toddler on her hip. She was great with kids...

Nikki could feel Cole's eyes on her, but she shrugged it off... She couldn't let herself fall for him... with his gorgeous ebony hair swept to the side... emerald eyes that could almost read her...

'No! Stop it!'

"Come on in." Nikki's mother insisted, and held open the door for them.

"Thank you, Mrs..." Cole said, trying to make a good impression on Nikki's family.

"Just call me Jennifer, dear." Nikki's - wait, Jennifer smiled at him. Cole walked inside, and saw Nikki on the floor, being tackled by two little girls that looked exactly alike - probably identical twins. Two older kids, a boy and a girl (they were probably older than Nikki) were watching, silently laughing at the scene in front of them.

Nikki finally grabbed the two laughing girls, and turned to her friends. "Guys, these little munchkins are Kelsey and Kelly. The toddler from before was Luke, and these two guys are Carson and Lillian."

Sensei Wu went to talk to Nikki's parents, and Nikki silently slipped out the back door. The only one who noticed was Cole, who quietly followed her outside.

Nikki heard the door close, and knew that someone had followed her outside. She guessed that it would be nice to have a shoulder to cry on. She slumped down, her back against one of the many hedges in her backyard garden.

'It will be... okay...' Her element whispered to her.

"Yeah, right! You're just a plant!" She yelled at the guilty flower, and it instantly withered at the sound of her harsh words.

'Oh no...' She thought, and ran over to kneel down beside it. 'What have I done... I'm a monster...' Nikki jerked her head up at the sound of footsteps on the other side of the hedge, and she shrunk back.

"Nikki?" Cole called quietly, hoping not to disturb the people inside. He was worried about her... She looked distraught when she slipped outside, and he had to check on her... It also worried him that she had yelled at some plant...

He heard the hedge rustle on the other side, and peeked around to see Nikki cowering back, her gaze trained on a flower. It looked dead, shriveled up, unlike the other beautiful flowers here. Cole walked over to her and sat down beside her.

Nikki flinched at his touch. 'No... of all the people...' But to her horror, she began crying, and he put an arm around her shoulder. Strangely enough, it felt... comforting. With her household as full as it was, no one but Lillian had ever held her like this, dried her tears... But that felt somewhat unnatural, like her body knew that it wouldn't last. But this...

"Hey, it's okay..." Cole tried his best to comfort the crying girl, and it seemed to work fairly well. She looked up at him and sniffled, her green eyes slightly bloodshot, but there was no mascara running down her face. 'She doesn't wear any makeup...?'

She sighed and stood up, tucking a strand of her a bit ashamed that he had to see her like this. "I'm sorry, it's just... This is all kind of new to me, and..."

Cole stood up as well and put a hand under her chin, making her look him in the eye. "Hey, you have to realize that we all know what you're going through. I remember when I found out I was a ninja, and believe me, I found out under stranger circumstances. But I didn't have any family to go to with my problems. I became the leader of the ninja, so everyone looked up to me. Sure, when I was reunited with my dad, that gave me someone to talk to, but I don't see him all that much anymore. And I couldn't talk to Lloyd or the other guys because, you know, Lloyd is twelve. You don't go to twelve-year-olds with eighteen-year-old problems. As for the guys, well, they'd probably just make fun of me or something. Who knows?

"But you have Nya and Alex to look out for you. You have the guys. You have me. Just remember that you are not alone."

He let go of her chin, and she dropped her head down. Nikki giggled a bit. "Wow, I didn't know that the great Cole Brookstone could be that... sappy." Cole laughed as she giggled again.

"Well, only around certain people." Nikki blushed a bright red, and when Cole realized what he had said, he blushed as well. They stared at each other for a minute before hearing people yelling their names from inside.

If possible, they both blushed a brighter red when they saw how close they had gotten. "Umm, w-we'd better go inside." Nikki mumbled, and Cole nodded, not fully listening.

Alex looked out the back door that led to the garden, and saw Nikki and Cole making their way inside, unmistakable blushes fading away. She opened the door, letting the two lovebirds in. She shot a meaningful glance to Nikki, who in return, looked pointedly between her and Zane, who just so happened to be standing behind her.

Zane was confused by the look Nikki gave him, and was even more confused when Alex looked back at him, blushing. Sure, he didn't know what was going on, but he did know that Alex looked cute with a blush. She had that gorgeous auburn hair. It was wavy and reached just past her shoulder blades. And her blue eyes... they were an aquamarine color, but they didn't glow like his. Well, not in the same way.

Zane shook his head. 'I have to get back on track... maybe I'll tell her how I feel later...'

* * *

After some consideration, Nikki's parents agreed to let Nikki be a kunoichi and train with the ninja. But Nikki had to bring some things from home, so she too had a duffel bag full of clothes and other belongings.

As they got back on the dragon, Nikki sat in front of Cole this time, letting him secure her with his arms. She felt safe, and it was a pleasant feeling. But like all things, she wasn't sure how long it would last...

The ninja dropped Nya, Nikki, and Alex off at Alex's bookstore to get changed, while they went off to their dingy apartment. The girls grabbed their duffel bags, while Nya had nothing but her suit to wear. Since there was still two hours until they needed to be back for dinner, the two girls decided to help out their friend and go... shopping.

* * *

Meanwhile, the boys were already changed, but the hour and a half until dinner was slowly but surely passing. So they decided to help Zane in his struggle to figure out what Alex's father meant by 'yes'.

"Zane, he means that Alex has permission to date you." Cole relieved the poor nindroid of his confusion.

"Then why didn't he just tell her that?" Zane was as curious as ever, letting his curiosity take over.

"Probably because he thought that he was answering her silent question. Now, what do you guys want to do now?"

Zane hardly noticed as the sounds of his brothers' voices faded out. He only had one thought circling through his mind. 'So... does she like me too?'

* * *

The girls finally collapsed on Alex's bed at twenty minutes until six, proud of their shopping efforts. They had all gotten a few things, either using Nikki's money or Alex's. (Nya had sworn she would find a way to repay them later - both of them insisted that it wasn't necessary.)

Nya finally walked into the closet with her duffel bag full of clothes, shoes, and other necessities while Nikki and Alex just lay on the bed, completely worn out from their long, taxing day of being kunoichi.

When Nya exited the closet, Alex quickly ran in to change as well, shutting the door behind her. Nya turned to Nikki, a smile on her face.

"So... what happened with you and Cole?"

Nikki blushed as she remembered how close they got... and how she secretly wished something had happened...

"W-well, ummm... I got mad at a flower, and then I shriveled it up, and then I got scared... and when Cole came... he hugged me, told me some stuff, and we almost..." She mumbled something else, but Nya's keen ears picked it up.

"Oh my goodness! You almost _KISSED?!"_Nya screamed, and Nikki slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Shh! I don't need the whole world to hear it! And I'm not quite sure... I think so, but..." Nikki trailed off, letting her mind roam once more to the emerald-eyed boy that had captured her heart.

Luckily for Nikki, Alex decided that she was ready to come out, and Nikki used that as an opportunity to scurry into the closet, and shut the door behind her, thankful for the distraction.

But Nya had the same fate in mind for Alex. "How's it going with Zane?"

She internally laughed at Alex's reaction: denial. And becoming very flustered, which did _not _help her case.

"W-what? I-I don't like Zane! What are you talking about?! I-"

"Stop denying yourself. I see the way you look at him. And just so you know, he looks at you the same way."

Alex closed her eyes, letting the nindroid with those piercing blue eyes run through her mind over and over again. 'Does he really... like me back...?'

Nya laughed. Alex was making this so easy! It was obvious she liked Zane, and maybe she could get the others to help her play matchmaker at dinner tonight...

**And chapter 4 is done! Next chapter will be the dinner and maybe some romantic stuff, along with a sleepover. Because those are just awesome.**

**Thank you to MoonofMoons and FrostDragon Girl318 for reviewing! **

**Nikki: Yeah. Bye!**


	7. Chapter 5

***announcer voice* Heyy people of Fanfiction, and welcome back to chapter five of Discovering Destiny!**

**Everyone: *stares at me***

**What?! I thought it would be cool...**

**Jay: Even I know that it wasn't...**

**Whatever. At least I updated, after... what? Two, three weeks without updating? So I'm really, really sorry about that. First I went to camp...**

**Nikki: She became obsessed with guys with pretty hair...**

**Alex: Started working on a chapter...**

**Lloyd: Went on an unexpected vacation...**

**Kai: And then.. the horrors of school returned...**

**So all in all, you guys are pretty lucky I updated today.**

**Kai: Don't you mean: AT ALL?! *glares at me***

**Heh heh... anyway... Cole?**

**Cole: Fine... She don't own Ninjago. Kelli-Rae and Parvati belong to Mariah.**

After Nya finished calling Jay, it was time for them to go downstairs. The boys were already seated downstairs, and Nya took a seat beside Jay, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Jay blushed as her soft lips graced his cheek, and his cheeks got a darker red when he saw her outfit. A simple cherry red tank top hugged her torso, showing some of her curves, and she had white pants with a cherry blossom print running down the side. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She looked amazing.

Jay had on a blue hoodie, a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. The other guys wore outfits, but with their own colored hoodie.

Kai glared at the lovestruck ninja, and kicked him from under the table.

"OW!" The blue ninja clutched his shin in pain, and Nya looked at Kai, who managed to put on an innocent face.

Alex came downstairs next, opting to sit by Zane, but seeing what Nya had done. Cole sat across from her, just in case Nikki had sat here instead of in the empty seat beside Cole, which Zane was across from. So Alex would've sat by Zane either way.

If Zane could've blushed, he would've. Alex was wearing an aquamarine v-neck t-shirt with a sparkly white camisole underneath. A pair of white capris clung to her legs, and there was a pair of black sandals on her feet. Her sister's necklace was around her neck.

Alex blushed a bit, with the way Zane was looking at her, and how he looked. Unlike the other ninja, he didn't have his white hoodie on, it was on the back of his chair. Instead, he had just a gray shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. The shirt fit well, and showed a bit of his muscular body, despite being a nindroid.

And last, but not least, Nikki came downstairs, and didn't look very happy when she saw that the only seat left was next to Cole, who had a light blush and couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She had on a coral shirt with a blue and green scarf, white skinny jeans, and black flats.

Cole finally averted his eyes as Nikki sat down beside him. She focused her eyes down on the table, trying not to look at the ebony-haired man beside her. Thing had very obviously gotten more awkward between them, and Nya was trying her best to get something to click between them.

Nikki had to give Nya some points - they had made eye contact, but that was pretty much it. She did kind of want to fix things between them, but that would be so... awkward.

Nya sighed. Her plan wasn't going quite as planned. Sure, Alex and Zane were talking like good friends, but Nikki and Cole had only made eye contact once.

Jay noticed his girlfriend's displeasure, and grabbed her hand under the table, squeezing it gently.

The Japanese girl smiled at her boyfriend. Though he could be cheesy at times, there were moments where he was very tender. Even if they were small moments, they were some of the ones she cherished most.

Nikki was relieved when Arista and Mr. Jones finally brought out the food - spaghetti and meatballs, a salad bowl, a vegetable tray, garlic bread, rolls, and an empty place where the dessert would go. (It was probably cheesecake. Her family pretty much made that and carrot cake. But the cheesecake was better.)

Nikki silently loaded her plate with food (mainly vegetables and spaghetti, she wasn't a vegetarian, but she wasn't completely comfortable with eating meat, and she was allergic to garlic.), and began eating. Sensei Wu and Kai began talking with Mr. Jones and Arista, Zane, Alex, Nya, and Jay started talking, and Cole decided that he was going to try and get a conversation out of Nikki.

"So... Why didn't you get any meatballs or garlic bread?" He took a bite of his garlic bread, chewed, and swallowed. "It's really good!"

Nikki sighed. This always happened... "I'm allergic to garlic and don't really like meat. I'll still eat it, but I prefer vegetables."

Cole gave a mock gasp. "So you don't like meat and you can't have garlic?! What a world!" He cried, putting a hand on his heart and leaning back in his chair.

To his delight, she led out a slight giggle before there was a stony silence between them. Cole moaned, and put his head in his hands. This was going to be a long night...

* * *

Finally, dessert came around. Cole managed to make her laugh and smile a few times, but he hadn't gotten much conversation out of her. If Cole didn't know any better, he might have given up. But his mother had taught him well, and then there was that saying...

'A ninja never quits!' Cole repeated in his head. 'A ninja never quits! A ninja never quits!' Arista and Mr. Jones came in, each carrying a platter of something. Cole's eyes widened, and all of the ninja looked over in time to see his comical expression: eyes wide, mouth open so wide that in a cartoon, it would be touching the floor.

Nikki laughed as she saw the black ninja's expression. "Cole, close your mouth." She giggled, and Cole sheepishly did so, but his eyes never left the platters of cheesecake.

The other ninja groaned at their leader's behavior. For such a big, muscular guy, who would've guessed that his weakness was usually slathered in icing and served on special occasions?

* * *

About an hour later, dinner was done, and Alex decided to talk to Zane alone before he and the ninja left to go back to their apartment. Nya would be spending the night with them, but the others would go back.

Zane blinked as the *pink kunoichi led him upstairs, presumably to her room. His guess was correct, considering the purple walls, bookshelf, and other various belongings, one of which was a jewelry box and had the name _Alexandra _in gold script.

She sighed and opened the window and carefully took out the screen. Zane's eyes widened. 'What is she doing?!'

Alex began to pull herself onto the roof, and the nindroid reluctantly followed. The two sat on the roof when the pink kunoichi began crying.

"What is it?"

"Well, you remember when you asked about my m-mom?" She waited for an affirmative gesture before continuing.

"Three years ago my mom and I were driving. We were at a stoplight, and absolutely no one else was there. The light turned green, and we went forward.

"I don't remember much, just screams, pain, and blood. According to the police, a drunk driver crashed into the driver's side of the car, where my mom was. Her body was damaged very badly, internal bleeding, fractured ribs, a broken arm and leg. I only got a few scars and a fractured elbow from when I flew through the windshield."

Zane's eyes widened as she wiped at a spot to the left of her left eye and a few centimeters below her temple to her jaw. There were two scars, fairly obvious. But he almost... liked them. It was a moment where he didn't know why, but he did. Maybe because they almost defined her. The pain in her life.

"I have more on my stomach, back, and legs, more serious than these. They healed, but they're still here. As for my mom..." He watched intently as she choked back a sob. "S-she fell asleep. For the last t-three y-years, she's been i-in the h-hospital in a c-c-coma."

She buried her face in her hands, letting the sobs flow freely, and Zane cleared his throat. Alex looked up at him, and her heart did a flip. She imagined that she looked awful, with her makeup smeared...

Zane carefully put his arms around her, letting her tears pour out onto his gi, but he didn't mind. He himself had a story to tell.

"Alexandra," he began, using her real name, "you are still lucky. You know that your mother has a chance for survival. You still have a father and a sister. As for me, I have no one. I don't have a mother figure, or if I do I don't remember her. My father died, turning off my memory switch as he did.

"I was left alone in the woods and made my way to a town. There I stayed for a few years, not knowing that I wasn't even human. I was pictured as a sort of freak, but found a job and a home. The job didn't pay much, and I foraged for what I couldn't easily afford. My life wasn't the best, not until I found Sensei Wu and my brothers." He recalled the day, and how strange it was that his Sensei had found him so easily.

"But instead of feeling sorry for myself, I now think back on the good times I had with my father. Yes, I do wish he was still here, but my sadness has decreased."

Alex blinked at Zane's moving story. He seemed so calm retelling it, as if it was a bedtime story. A single drop of oil dropped out of his crystal blue optics. Alex caught it on her finger, marveling at how easily it had spilled from his eye.

The nindroid was shocked. No one had ever seen this without shrieking or recoiling. Except for his father...

He watched as she put her head on his shoulder, and he carefully wrapped his arms back around her. They stayed there, completely silent for a few minutes before voices jerked them out of their moment.

The two shared a glance before heading back down to her room. To Zane's surprise, Alex quickly threw her arms around him and placed a tentative kiss on his cheek. The two headed downstairs, where Zane left with his brothers and Alex stayed with the kunoichi.

The three girls headed into the room behind the storage room. It was pretty much a large break room. The couch and coffee table had been exchanged for three sleeping bags.

Nikki grabbed the remote and turned on the TV and the Wee. Then she turned to the other girls and raised an eyebrow. "Who wants to have a Once Upon a Time marathon?"

Alex nodded slowly, deep in thought. 'I can't believe we... I... wow...'

"WHAT?!" Nikki shrieked, making Alex and Nya cover their ears. "What do you _mean, _you've never seen Once Upon a Time?!"

Alex let out a long sigh. This was going to be a long night...

* * *

Seven episodes later, Alex was passed out in her sleeping bag, making soft whimpering noises. The two remaining kunoichi stretched out on their sleeping bags, not quite ready to fall asleep.

"Nikki?"

"Yeah?"

"Why won't you accept that Cole likes you and that you like him back?"

Nikki leaned back, somewhat alarmed by the question.

"I mean, he's trying to get through to you, but you aren't letting him. Why is that?"

Nikki closed her eyes before opening them again. "Well... I guess it's because... I don't know. Maybe because I was betrayed by someone because of it. And I worry about it happening again."

"Well then you should know that Cole isn't like that." Nya started. "He's loyal, he wouldn't do that. Get to know him. Maybe you'll find out that you're not as different as you thought."

Nikki looked down and pondered her new friend's words. 'Maybe I should give him a chance...'

All of a sudden, ear-piercing screams cut into their thoughts.

**Hee hee hee... I'm so evil... Cliffhanger! But don't worry, I'll update soon. And kudos to whoever either watches OUAT or guesses who screamed and why.**

**Thanks to MoonofMoons for reviewing, and I'll see you Monday!**


	8. Chapter 6

**Whew, chapter six! Is anyone else as excited as I am?**

**Nikki: Yippee.**

**Jessica: WHERE IS MY SPARKLY BALLOON FROM, LIKE, FOUR CHAPTERS AGO AND NINJAMELISSA THOUGHT WAS HERS, AND... AND... And... Okay, where is the balloon?**

**In that corner. *points***

**Jessica: Okay! *skips off***

***giggles nervously* So... How long has it been...? **

**Nikki: A month.**

**Yeah... blame school and Writer's block.**

**Now then, on with the story! I don't own Ninjago, OUAT, or anything else I reference. Kelli-Rae and Parvati belong to Mariah.**

The two girls turn to the remaining kunoichi, Alex, and find her writhing in her sleep.

"No! Mom! MOM!" With that last cry, her eyes shoot open and she takes in her surroundings. When she realizes that she's not trying to reach her mother, pleading for her to be alive, she quickly calms down and looks at her wide-eyed friends. "Oh... I guess I need to tell you something..."

* * *

Alex finished her story with a sigh. She always felt like she could've done something, but Zane taught her that things like that happen. No one is a perfect immortal machine (though Zane _might _be an acception.).

The Japanese girl stared at her friend, astonished. 'Wow... Maybe I should tell them about my parents...'

The yellow kunoichi cleared her throat, and the others turned to her. "Um, since we seem to be spilling secrets, I guess I should tell you about my parents." She took a deep breath before spilling out one of her most closely guarded secrets. "I've never met my mother. She died right after I was born, leaving me, my brother, and the shop solely in my father's hands.

"For a few years he was able to handle it all, and he did a nice job. But soon the stress became too much. He would leave for bars multiple times a day. Kai would protect me, which is probably where his 'overprotective side' came from. The two of us got used to being alone and running the shop. One day when I was around ten he was about to leave us again and I snapped. I screamed at him, told him I hated him, how I never wanted to see him again.

"I ran back to my room and flopped on my bed, crying. I couldn't believe what I had done. Not even ten minutes later, I told myself that I was going to apologize. But when I got back, he was gone. Only a note was left on the door.

"It told us that he was sorry, but Kai got mad. He started yelling about why he didn't tell us himself, so I told him the truth. Somehow he calmed down and let me cry on his shoulder. Since then I've grown stronger, both in the mind and body."

Nikki let out a low whistle. "Whoa... Do I have to share a story? Because I'd rather not... and not just because I don't have one."

The other kunoichi giggled. "Of course not! Besides, it's late enough already. Let's just go to sleep." Alex said before rolling over and closing her eyes.

Nya nodded and did the same, but Nikki only rolled over so no one else could see her face. 'I don't want to lie to them... but I also don't want to tell them one of my biggest secrets... at least, not yet.' With that final thought she closed her eyes. But even with that decision, it would be a long time before she truly was asleep...

* * *

"Girls, Sensei Wu is here! And I made breakfast!" The three kunoichi were rudely awakened by pounding on the door. They reluctantly got up and got dressed in their uniforms, most of them ready to face the challenges ahead...

But a certain kunoichi of nature was having difficulty...

As Nikki finished pulling her mask on, she grabbed her hoops, pushed the button, and stuck the rods in her pocket. A sudden yawn struck her, and she realized how sleep deprived she was. But she also knew that she couldn't let anyone know her doubts or obstacles. If she was really supposed to be a kunoichi, she would be able to overcome them.

Mr. Jones handed his daughter and her teammates their food, and his daughter took pride in the fact that her sister was wearing the necklace she gave her. Alex said her farewells and joined her friends, the usual glint in her eye gone.

Once again, they all had to squeeze onto the dragon. But halfway through the ride, when everyone was finished with breakfast, Sensei landed the Ultra Dragon and told everyone to get off.

His students reluctantly got off, most of them wearing tennis shoes or something like that. Except for Kai. The stubborn ninja of fire had insisted on wearing the shoes that had originally came with his ninja suit. Sadly, they were not very good walking shoes. Sensei began to lead them to the east.

* * *

Two hours later, the hotheaded ninja was p!$$3d off. He was _not _in the mood for walking long distances. Especially not with the stupid shoes he had on. The others had originally scrapped them because they weren't good for anything long distance, but he had kept them just in case.

If he had known that this was going to be more of a walking trip, he definitely would've brought his red tennis shoes.

But sadly, he went for comfort rather than being prepared, and now his 'comfortable' shoes were the reason he now had several blisters on his heels.

"I am definitely getting rid of these when I get back..."

* * *

Another 3 and a half hours and five popped blisters later, the ninja were near the east coast, down to the south a bit. It was fairly warm out, making for a perfect spring day. And to think, a few weeks ago it was still snowing outside. Another couple of weeks and it would be summer.

Sensei stopped abruptly, and his students had to catch themselves. They were on the edge of a cliff, and Sensei turned to Cole.

"Cole, you must take Nikki, Alex, and Nya with you to the garden. It is in a cave underneath this jagged cliff, and the only way to reach it is for you to take the kunoichi down with you." Sensei took out some rope and harnesses and handed them to Cole, who handed the harnesses to the kunoichi.

**(A/N: Well, idk how to mountain climb, so we'll just skip down to them entering the cave.)**

An hour and a half later, the three kunoichi and Cole were standing in front of the cave, getting sprayed by the ocean behind them. Nikki smelled the scent of the salty ocean and exhaled slowly.

She had spent some time at the beach in her childhood, and she had begun to love it. In fact, it was where she had met-

'No!' She scolded herself. 'You can't think of him again!'

"Nikki...?" Cole asked, noticing the pained look on her face. "We should probably go in now..."

The girl blushed and entered the cave, her friends behind her. Her eyes searched for something besides dark damp walls and wet moss.

A sudden light was finally able to be seen, and Nikki then realized that her friends were far behind her, struggling to keep moving. An invisible force was holding them back, while Nikki was unaffected.

She hurried back to them, and they began to protest as she tried to drag them along. Cole grabbed her wrist, and she froze as his firm grip held to her arm.

"Let go." Her words were cold and almost without emotion. Cole gulped slightly- she was scary when mad. Or whatever she was.

"Not until you realize that if we can't seem to follow you fast enough, .maybe we're not supposed to."

Her eyes widened, and her other hand let go of Alex's wrist. She clearly displayed shock, and something glinted in her eyes. Maybe... fear?

She nodded slowly and turned around, not particularly happy about his proclamation. "Nikki." His voice floated up to her, a different softness in his tone. "We will be as close behind you as we can be."

She grinned, despite the situation, and headed back down into the cave.

* * *

The kunoichi of nature lost track of time soon after she lost sight of her friends. Who knows how long she had been down here. The light was still ahead of her, and it was closer than before.

Suddenly there was an opening, and she stepped into an enormous cavern. In front of her was a forest, but unlike the spring it was now, it seemed to be set in fall.

The leaves were orange, yellow, brown, red, and many variations of those shades. There were flowers of all different shapes, sizes, and colors, and there were some animals running around. Piles of leaves hid some of the smaller animals, while the larger ones simply ran away.

But a single deer- probably a doe- came up to her. It nudged her leg with its head, directing her to the right.

The doe was soon joined by squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, foxes, and even a bear. More and more animals joined the crowd behind her, until she reached another landmark.

There was no clear point where the warm-ish autumn landscape transformed into a harsh winter tundra. The friendly animals were gone, and now she could see none scurrying around.

Nikki squinted against the blinding winds. 'This is one of the many reasons why winter is not my favorite season...'

She arrived in spring, not as quickly as she would've liked. The cool temperatures and bright, fresh, blooming flowers were a definite improvement against the barren landscape before.

She could've sworn a penguin had helped her before, but she couldn't be sure...

Now she was in a meadow, the lush green grass tickling her legs. She could see more small animals scurrying around, and knelt down. A bunny lept into her hand before jumping back into the grass and running ahead of her.

Nikki followed the creature, and it led her to summer. She didn't see much of it before she was led down a hallway, and was faced with a large room. She brushed sand off of her moccasins and stepped up to the pedestal. It had a symbol on it- a large flower- but there was nothing else but stone walls.

She felt something in her hand and slowly opened it, revealing a purple flower that matched the flower on the pedestal. A small compartment slowly opened, and she placed the flower inside.

The compartment closed, sand she heard a small clicking sound. She was thrown to the floor, and unconsciousness invaded her mind.

'_It is time to begin..._'

* * *

Sensei felt the shift, and knew that the first test had begun. If all went well, Nicole would have her weapon...

* * *

Cole, Alex, and Nya exited the cave, and waited patiently outside. They had felt the ground shake, and had gotten out before anything happened.

The pink ninja had a worried expression on her face. "I hope she's okay..."

**Aaand... done! I know, I know, I'm so cruel for making you wait another chapter before seeing what happens, but I tend to like creating cliffhanger, and I don't want this chapter to be too long.**

**Thank you to MoonofMoons and FrostDragon Girl318 for reviewing!**


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